Time

Time is a mechanic in the Pokémon games. It was introduced in Generation II and has been a major component of almost all games released afterward. Time affects both the evolution of several Pokémon and whether certain Pokémon can be found in the wild. Some events may take place at a specific time of day, or on a particular day of the week.

Berries are governed by the time function, maturing after a certain amount of time has passed. Much like weather, the games' time function has been revised and expanded in each subsequent generation after its introduction.

Generation II

In Generation II, the changing time of day was a highly touted feature for the games; several Pokémon were even designed with this in mind, such as Hoothoot and Noctowl, while others would only appear in certain areas at certain timesofday.

At the beginning of all three games, the clock would be set upon starting a new game, even before the player is named. The default time is 10:00 AM. The clock can be reset through a code in all three games, though it is more difficult to do so in Pokémon Crystal. The player's Mom will change the clock by an hour for daylight saving time.

Eevee was given two new evolutions to take advantage of the changing time: Espeon, which it would become if its friendship maxed out during the morning or day, and Umbreon, which it would become if its friendship maxed during the night.

Times of day

Morning

Day

Night

4:00 AM - 9:59 AM

10:00 AM - 5:59 PM

6:00 PM - 3:59 AM

Morning

Morning, referred to as Morn in-game, is the time from 4:00 AM to 9:59 AM. Many Pokémon Trainers are still asleep and there are many Bug-type Pokémon in the wild. However, the wild Pokémon that appear in the Morning are mostly the same as Day, with only slight differences. During the Morning, the rising sun tints the entire landscape with a yellowish hue.

Daytime near the water.

Day

Day is the time from 10:00 AM to 5:59 PM. The landscape is not tinted at all during this time, making it seem closer to the Generation I games (which do not have a time system). Day is the busiest time, as most people are up and about at this time and a wide variety of Pokémon appear.

Night

Night, referred to as Nite in-game, is the time from 6:00 PM to 3:59 AM. During the Night, Pokémon encountered by Headbutting trees may be sleeping at the start of the encounter. Wild Pokémon battles taking place at night use a slightly different music track. The world is colored a bluish-purple, and buildings have their lights on.

While the function for manually resetting the clock is not available in the Japanese versions, the main menu error and the actual clock adjustment screen exist in all versions as they are used for when the clock data is invalid or corrupted.

Western Gold and Silver

Hold ↓, SELECT, and B.

Western Crystal and Korean Gold and Silver

Hold ↓, SELECT, and B

Release ↓ and B, while still holding SELECT

Hold ← and ↑, while still holding SELECT

Release SELECT

Generation III

Unlike Generation II, Generation III had no separate time periods, or even an ability to check the time in-game unless the player traveled back to Littleroot Town, where he or she had set an analog clock at the beginning of the game. Also, unlike Generation II, the time-based events were very few and extremely far between, with the clock mostly running to keep track of the growth of planted Berries (although this was not completely foolproof).

Additionally, there is no way to change the clock for Daylight Saving Time in this generation. There was, however, some premise in the games. For example, Shoal Cave's water level would change every six hours, at 3:00 and 9:00 AM and PM. Just the same, Eevee would be able to evolve into Espeon if the in-game time was between 12:00 PM and 11:59 PM. Eevee would be able to evolve into Umbreon if the in-game time was between 12:00 AM and 11:59 AM.

Shoal Cave tides

High Tide

Low Tide

9:00 PM - 2:59 AM9:00 AM - 2:59 PM

3:00 AM - 8:59 AM3:00 PM - 8:59 PM

Time-based evolutions

Day Evolution

Night Evolution

12:00 PM - 11:59 PM

12:00 AM - 11:59 AM

Although a small part of the game, some events occur on a daily basis. Lilycove Department Store gives out Pokémon Loto Tickets for the Pokémon Lottery Corner, with the winning number changing daily. An old man who lives in Pacifidlog Town looks out for Mirage Island, and will, every day, generate a random number between 0 and 65535 and if this number matches the personality value of any of the Pokémon in the party, Mirage Island will appear in the game.

In Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, however, the time function is completely absent, allowing it to be more like the Generation I games. This also makes it impossible for Eevee to evolve into either Espeon or Umbreon in these games. In order to do so, the player would have to trade Eevee to Ruby, Sapphire or Emerald and have it evolve in one of those games. The same holds true for Pokémon Colosseum, where Espeon and Umbreon are obtainable as Starter Pokémon. In XD, Eevee can only be evolved into Espeon or Umbreon by a method that is not time-dependent, the Sun and Moon Shards.

Generation IV

The overworld as it cycles through the day

In Generation IV, the time function returned fully with many features from Generation II, including changes in the overworld lighting and in the availability of wild Pokémon at different timesofday. However, this time it uses the Nintendo DS's system clock. Many new Pokémon have evolutions influenced by the time of day; for example, Gligar will only evolve into Gliscor at night. The three time periods from Generation II return, with smoother transitions between them.

A calendar and day of the week system are also present. The game keeps track of the date of capture of every Pokémon. Some in-game events are influenced by the day of the week; for example, Drifloon only appear in the Valley Windworks on Fridays, and battles with Barry in the Battle Zone can only be initiated on weekends.

The Pokédex also has a new function that displays where Pokémon are found in each time period. When it is first opened, the Sinnoh Pokédex will also default to the current time of day.

Morning

Day

Everything takes on its natural color during the day. Day lasts from 10:00 AM to 7:59 PM, with twilight lasting from around 5:00 PM until night sets in. Twilight has its own set of eyecatches.

Night

Much like its Generation II counterpart, the world is dark, but pockmarked by the bright lights of buildings. Night lasts from 8:00 PM to 3:59 AM, with lights in buildings turning off at 12:00 midnight. A majority of areas in Sinnoh have slightly different music during the night, including Pokémon Centers, though this is not true in Kanto and Johto.

Generation V

In Pokémon Black and White, the concept of seasons was introduced. These are akin to the seasons in the real world, only to allow for less restrictive gameplay, the seasons change with every month.

Time of day now varies depending on the current season. As in HeartGold and SoulSilver, day is divided in four different parts: morning, when floodlights in the cities switch off and the sun starts to rise; daytime, when everything is lightened; evening, when the floodlights switch on in the cities and everything starts to be lit with an orange hue; and then nighttime, which is characterized by a darker landscape, both in the overworld map and in battle.

In favor of seasons, Pokémon are no longer found at different times of day, meaning Pokémon that one would suspect to find only at night will be found during all times of day.

Time of day in relation to season

Season

Morning

Day

Evening

Night

Spring

5:00 AM-9:59 AM

10:00 AM-4:59 PM

5:00 PM-7:59 PM

8:00 PM-4:59 AM

Summer

4:00 AM-8:59 AM

9:00 AM-6:59 PM

7:00 PM-8:59 PM

9:00 PM-3:59 AM

Autumn

6:00 AM-9:59 AM

10:00 AM-5:59 PM

6:00 PM-7:59 PM

8:00 PM-5:59 AM

Winter

7:00 AM-10:59 AM

11:00 AM-4:59 PM

5:00 PM-6:59 PM

7:00 PM-6:59 AM

Generation VI

Time continued to be based on the system clock in Generation VI, now using the 3DS's clock to track time. Seasons from Generation V did not carry over, however. Therefore, the intervals for when morning, day, evening, and night occur are now constant. Unlike in previous generations, where the time period transitions lasted a few seconds, they may last up to 15 minutes, allowing less abrupt changes in the overworld lighting. If the 3DS clock is changed, time-based events will not occur for 24 hours and any Berries will reset.

Times of day

Morning

Day

Evening

Night

4:00 AM - 10:59 AM

11:00 AM - 5:59 PM

6:00 PM - 8:59 PM

9:00 PM - 3:59 AM

Generation VII

In Pokémon Sun, the clock functions conventionally, matching the Nintendo 3DS's clock; however, in Pokémon Moon, the game runs its time 12 hours earlier than the 3DS's clock. Specific scenes in the game, such as in the beginning of the game, will be set at specific times, with the clock effectively frozen until that part of the story is completed.

Different Pokémon can once again found depending on the time of day; in the Rotom Pokédex, these species are denoted with a different icon when viewed in the Habitat menu. Certain areas in Alola have slightly different background music depending on the time of day, such as Hau'oli City.

Times of day

Note that these times refer to the time on the 3DS's clock. That is, within Pokémon Moon, "day" still starts at 6 AM as far as the game world is concerned. This may be seen at any place that acknowledges the time, such as the Pokémon Center Café.

Time-specific events

Please note that this section relates only to events that occur at specific times but not on a particular day. For events that occur only on specific days of the week please see Days of the week.

Time-based evolutions

With the introduction of time in Generation II, time-based evolutions were also introduced. The table below summarizes the in-game times during which Pokémon that evolve based on time can evolve in various games across the generations. Since time was not implemented in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, these Pokémon cannot evolve in those games.

Pokémon X and Y

Juice may be made for free from Berries from the player's inventory once a day.

Lumiose Galettes may be purchased for 100 (80 if the player is more stylish) for four hours at a time starting at 3 AM, 9 AM, 3 PM, and 9 PM.

Once per day, the player may also receive a free Moomoo Milk if they purchase a galette during the hours of 3 AM, 9 AM, 3 PM, or 9 PM.

In Camphrier Town lives a man who makes daily requests to see a specific Pokémon type that is giving off good vibes. If the player shows him a Pokémon bearing requested type, he will reward them a berry of their choosing.

A Maid in the same house will also give the player a Sweet Heart once per day as well.

A massage therapist in Cyllage City will massage the player's lead Pokémon once a day.

Route 18's Psychic Inver will battle the player in an Inverse Battle once a day.

Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire

The tides in Shoal Cave depend on the time of day. It is high tide from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm and 9:00 pm to 3:00 am, and low tide from 3:00 pm to 9:00 pm and 3:00 am to 9:00 am.

In the Nameless Cavern, one of the lake guardians can be encountered depending on the time of day. Mesprit appears between 4:00am and 7:59pm, Uxie appears between 8:00pm and 8:59pm, and Azelf appears between 9:00pm and 3:59am.

In the Trackless Forest, one of the Legendary beasts can be encountered depending on the time of day. Each one appears for twenty minutes of every hour. Raikou, from zero to 19 minutes past the hour; Entei, from 20 to 39 minutes past; and Suicune, from 40 to 59 minutes past.

In the spin-off games

The shortest unit of time measured in Pokémon Conquest is a month (not real time). Every story starts on January, Year 1. In two stories (The Rebel and Tragic Determination), the goal is to defeat Nobunaga before January, Year 4 (before 3 years had passed).

Opposing armies will only attack at the very start of the month, except for one time in The Legend of Ransei where Shingen or Kenshin attack after they decline a battle with the player.